The Premier League footballer Kurt Zouma has been ordered to carry out 180 hours of community service and banned from keeping cats for five years for kicking and slapping his cat.

Microchipping can be done for dogs and cats and is a popular trend abroad.Adds pet parent, Swathi Sundararanjan, “I recently got my Cooper, my Golden Retriever pup, microchipped.Hearing loss, for example, can be one sign to look for.

New Year's Eve fireworks: Due to their sensitive hearing, dogs can find the loud noises fireworks make very distressing (Image: GETTY).New Year's Eve fireworks: Walking dogs before fireworks start can help to reduce stress for pets (Image: GETTY).